MIAMI (March 6, 2017) -- Coming off its 4-1 weekend at the Citrus Classic II near Orlando, FIU softball will play its first midweek games of the season, with a pair of contests in Fort Myers, Florida, Tuesday. The Panthers will take on Holy Cross at noon, followed by Ball State at 2:30 p.m.
 
FIU sits at 15-6 overall, with a winning record in all four weekend tournaments to date. The Panthers scored 26 runs in two games Friday, winning one by run rule. The Panthers were one out away from a perfect 5-0 for the weekend, falling to Notre Dame in extra innings. The Panthers are led in batting average by center fielder Jackie Schoff (Bradenton, Florida / Lakewood Ranch HS). The sophomore's .458 average comes with a team-high 33 hits and 27 runs scored. She also paces FIU with 13 stolen bases. She has a hit in the first inning of seven of the Panthers' 21 games, adding two first-inning walks to put the pressure on opposing defenses. Her six first-inning runs scored are tied for the team lead. The Panthers have scored 22 runs in the first inning, more than any other frame.
 
Senior Stephanie Texeira (Miami, Florida / Gulliver Prep) broke the school record for walks in a career with five more, pushing her season total to 15 and career mark to 112. She already owns the FIU career record in home runs, adding another over the weekend to get to 35 for her career, and needs two RBI to tie Ashley McClain for the career mark in that category, at 161. She is 12 runs scored and 15 doubles away from owning those properties in the record books, and remains on pace to obliterate the career batting average, slugging and on-base percentages when her career ends following this season. She leads FIU with 15 walks, and is second on the team in hits (24), home runs (three) and RBI (21), while third in runs scored (16)
 
FIU leads all of Conference USA in defense, posting a .976 fielding percentage. Inside the pitching circle, FIU is led by sophomore Megan Kugelmann's (Merritt Island, Florida / Cocoa Beach HS) 6-1 record and 1.81 ERA. Freshman Shannon Saile (Land O'Lakes, Florida / Land O'Lakes HS) has six complete games to lead the team, including her one-hit shutout Sunday of Bryant. Her 79 strikeouts are second-most in the league and her 58 innings pitched are tops on the Panthers pitching staff.
 
Holy Cross has begun the year 2-3, playing two weekends ago at the Runnin' Bulldog Tournament in Boiling Springs, North Carolina. After winning the first two games of the year, the Crusaders are winless in their least three games. They average four runs per game, with nine different players scoring a run in five games. When in the field, the Crusaders have allowed five runs per game. Taylor Moss is off to a team-leading .500 start as a hitter. She has one double and six RBI in her first five games. Katy Watson leads the team with 10 strikeouts in just 7.1 innings pitched.
 
Ball State is 7-12 so far this season, but won four out of five at the Under Armour Invitational in Clearwater, hosted by USF. The USF game was the only loss suffered over the weekend, with two wins coming by run rule. Janae Hogg hits 80 points higher (.431) than any other Cardinal in the lineup. Her 25 hits are tops on the squad, while six doubles, three homers and 12 RBI are second. Darcie Huber lead the pitching staff with five wins and a 2.33 ERA. In 54 innings, she has struck out 39 batters.
 
Following these two games, FIU hosts its half of the Panthers-Owls Friendly, with games against Fordham and Rutgers on Felsberg Field at FIU Softball Stadium on Friday, starting at 4:15, and a doubleheader with Fairfield on Saturday at 1 p.m. FIU will take on LIU-Brooklyn at Florida Atlantic's campus on Sunday at 11:15 a.m.

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About FIU Athletics: FIU Athletics is home to more than 400 student-athletes in 18 different sports, and is a proud member of Conference USA. Athletic events are played in seven different venues on FIU's campuses (Modesto A. Maidique and Biscayne Bay), including FIU Arena and the FIU Football Stadium.
 
About FIU: Florida International University is recognized as a Carnegie engaged university. It is a public research university with colleges and schools that offers more than 180 bachelor's, master's and doctoral programs in fields such as engineering, international relations, architecture, law and medicine. As one of South Florida's anchor institutions, FIU contributes $9.8 billion each year to the local economy. FIU is Worlds Ahead in finding solutions to the most challenging problems of our time. FIU emphasizes research as a major component of its mission. FIU has awarded over 200,000 degrees and enrolls more than 54,000 students in two campuses and three centers including FIU Downtown on Brickell, FIU@I-75, and the Miami Beach Urban Studios. FIU also supports artistic and cultural engagement through its three museums: the Patricia & Phillip Frost Art Museum, the Wolfsonian-FIU, and the Jewish Museum of Florida-FIU. FIU is a member of Conference USA and has over 400 student-athletes participating in 18 sports. For more information about FIU, visit http://www.fiu.edu/.